Buffalo Wild Wings GameNight

The Dirty Poll! Week Six Edition

by Andy Johnson,posted Oct 6 2013 11:49PM

Rk

Team

Record

LW

AP

Analysis

1

Alabama

5-0 (2-0)

1

1

Nothing to see here, the top ranked Crimson Tide for some reason played Georgia State Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Needless to say, it was a blowout. So much for this "unbearable" SEC slate... Since there's not much to break down in this one -- looking forward things don't get much tougher for Alabama -- as they'll face Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee over the next three weeks.

2

Clemson

5-0 (3-0)

2

3

Tahj Boyd and Clemson rudely welcomed Syracuse to the ACC Saturday, to the tune of a 49-13 blowout victory. This marks back-to-back impressive wins for the Tigers, after their scare against North Carolina State, in which they've outscored their opponents 105-21. Clemson has one more week to work out all the kinks, next Saturday against Boston College -- before the real ACC Championship game -- October, 19th versus Florida State.

3

Oregon

5-0 (2-0)

3

2

Colorado came out not holding any punches, calling an onside kick to open the game and scoring their opening touchdown on a WR reverse pass... But all they accomplished was making this game watchable through the first half. Oregon did what they always do -- wear down lesser opponents, before the final horn went off with the Ducks a 57-16 winner. Oregon was sloppy on both sides of the ball, allowing chunks of yards to the Buffs, while struggling to get into a rhythm on offense. But I'll chalk that up to a lack of motivation, and a little peaking forward on the schedule. The biggest thing we learned from this ballgame; if Marcus Mariota wasn't already the Heisman front runner -- he is now. The Ducks sophomore QB had 398 total yards and 7 TD's (5 passing, 2 rushing). One big note coming out of this weekend for the Ducks -- junior Colt Lyerla has left the team and left the University citing "personal reasons"... This will be a developing story, and the Ducks will sorely miss his experience, physical ability and talent. But, the Ducks do have two young TE's that have played well this season in Johnny Mundt and Pharoah Brown. Next up for Oregon: their first "test" of the season next Saturday at Washington.

4

Stanford

5-0 (3-0)

4

5

What. A. Game. Stanford had yet to be tested this season, but survived a scare from an upstart Washington team Saturday night down on the farm. Not sure how exactly to feel following this game, but we'll know a lot more about how impressive this win really was after Oregon and Washington square off next Saturday. The Cardinal benefited greatly from special teams miscues; running the opening kickoff back for a TD and turning a botched pooch kick into a TD before the half. I still have a lot of questions surrounding this team -- especially on the offensive side of the ball. We'll learn more Saturday night, when they travel to Utah to take on a much improved Utes squad.

5

Florida State

5-0 (3-0)

5

6

Well, that was damn impressive. Maryland slid into the top-25 after an impressive 4-0 start to the season... But it all crashed and burned for the Terrapins Saturday, as they were absolutely embarrassed in Tallahassee, losing 63-0 to the Seminoles. We all thought this would be Florida State's first test of the season, and if it was, they passed it with flying colors. Next up -- the game we've all been waiting for in the ACC -- FSU at Clemson, October 19th.

6

Ohio State

6-0 (2-0)

6

4

The Buckeyes have had two tests (if you want to call them that) and passed them both... barely. After edging Wisconsin at home last weekend, Ohio State squeaked by Northwestern Saturday night. These were two games that the Buckeyes needed to win impressively -- because of the non-existent strength of schedule -- which will likely come back to bite them depending on how that chips fall at the end of the year. Next up, another easy game for Ohio State, versus Iowa in Columbus.

7

Georgia

4-1 (3-0)

7

7

A little hungover, are we Georgia? Coming off yet another win over a top-10 opponent -- Georgia struggled throughout and was lucky to get out of Tennessee with a 34-31 win in overtime. Lucky might not even do this one justice -- Georgia scored the tying touchdown with less than 10 seconds remaining on a 3rd and goal play. Then, in overtime, Tennessee was on the brink of scoring before fumbling into the endzone for a touchback. So much for saying it was all downhill from here on out for Georgia... But I'll say it again this week -- the schedule is easy as apple pie for the Bulldogs the rest of the way -- only one ranked team (Florida on November, 2nd) remains on the slate.

8

LSU

5-1 (2-1)

9

10

LSU had a rough week, after being left the "what if" taste following their rough loss to Georgia -- but they bounced back with a bang blowing out Mississippi State 59-26 on the road. If the Tigers want to get back into the National Title hunt, they'll have plenty of opportunities to do so. Starting this weekend, when the 18th ranked Florida Gators come to town. Oh, and don't forget, they get #1 Alabama and #9 Texas A&M in back-to-back games late in the season.

9

Louisville

5-0 (1-0)

8

8

And this is why I'm not a believer in Louisville. If the Cardinal wanted any shot at a potential National Title game appearance, beating a winless Temple team 30-7 in their AAC opener is not the way to do it. Teddy Bridgewater was impressive, but a 23 point win won't cut it for this team. The stat that says it all -- Louisville did not score a touchdown in the 2nd half. The schedule only gets more irrelevant moving forward; Rutgers and Central Florida are up next.

10

UCLA

4-0 (1-0)

10

11

UCLA is breathing a serious sigh of relief, after escaping Salt Lake City with a 34-27 win over Utah Thursday night. The Utes are now 0-2 in the Pac-12, losing both games by a combined score of 10 points. As for the Bruins -- Brett Hundley won this game nearly single handedly, completing 17 passes and carrying the rock 20 times in the winning effort. UCLA has one more tune-up before the schedule heats up, Saturday against Cal -- then the following two games, on the road against Stanford and Oregon. In a matter of three weeks, we'll know all we need to know about UCLA.

11

Miami (FL)

5-0 (1-0)

12

13

Usually like to leave humble brags out of the "Dirty Poll"... That being said, I'm feeling damn good about my pre-season Miami to the BCS prediction. After another impressive win this weekend (over Georgia Tech 45-30) the Canes are now 5-0 on the season. The beauty moving forward for the "U" is that they sit on the opposite side of the ACC from Florida State and Clemson. So while they'll still have to play Florida State (on the road, November 2nd) -- conceivably a win over Virginia Tech will land them in the ACC title game. Miami will look to keep that run alive a week from Thursday, when they travel to take on North Carolina.

12

South Carolina

4-1 (2-1)

11

14

It's been an interesting couple of weeks for South Carolina, after their season seemingly ended with a loss to Georgia. It took a potentially nasty turn Saturday, when All-American Jadaveon Clowney elected not to play through a rib injury. The Ol' Ball Coach Steve Spurrior had these comments following the game: "If he wants to play, we will welcome him to come play for the team if he wants, but he if doesn't want to play, he doesn't have to play. Simple as that." Read into those comments as far as you want -- but one thing is for certain, the Gamecocks played down to their competition for the third straight week and were lucky to escape Kentucky with a 35-28 win.

13

Oklahoma

5-0 (2-0)

14

12

We've heard all about the National Title hopes for Alabama, Oregon, Clemson, Stanford, Ohio State, Louisville, ect... But one team that's flown under that radar? Oklahoma. It wasn't pretty Saturday in Norman, but the Sooners prevailed past TCU for a 20-17 win, in the process improving to 5-0 on the season. Next up for Bob Stoops, the Red River Rivalry against Texas at the Cotton Bowl.

14

Texas A&M

4-1 (1-1)

13

9

Johnny Football and Texas A&M had the weekend off, a chance to catch their breath following a scare against Arkansas last weekend. They'll get a good test this coming Saturday, when they travel to take on a reeling Ole Miss team.

15

Michigan

5-0 (1-0)

16

18

The Wolverines had a nice change of pace Saturday, after narrow defeats over two lowly opponents -- Michigan bounced back for an impressive 42-13 win over Minnesota at the Big House. Big Blue has looked great at times this season, but also left us scratching our heads. Luckily for them; we won't really need to know who the real Michigan is because of how bad the Big 10 is. The upcoming schedule pretty much sums it up for the Wolverines: at Penn State, Vs Indiana and at Michigan State.

16

Baylor

4-0 (1-0)

18

15

Like offense? Well then Baylor is the team to watch. While Oregon has been known for having the nation’s most prolific offense, they may have to hand that baton over to the Bears soon. The fewest points Baylor has scored this season? 69. They're #1 in the nation in points per game, #1 in passing yards and #2 in rushing yards... Not to mention, they're only giving up 16 points per game. Lache Seastrunk is a full fledged Heisman candidate (as he promised he would be), and they play in a weak Big 12 conference. BCS buster? I don't see anything slowing them down any time soon.

17

Washington

4-1 (1-1)

15

16

Tough one, Huskies. I have fun trolling and poking fun at Washington's expense, but they played a hell of a game Saturday night at Stanford. Better kickoff coverage, and a call or two going the other way -- and we're talking about how the Huskies pulled off the upset of the early season. Instead, Washington did what they tend to do, find a way to lose to a better team -- and now Oregon comes to town. For eight straight years, the Ducks have dominated the I5 rivalry, winning all eight by at least 20 points. Gameday will be in Seattle, a renovated Husky Stadium will be rocking... But can UDub bounce back and pull of the unthinkable? My guess is, no.

18

Florida

4-1 (3-0)

17

17

Florida continues to look improved since the loss of Jeff Driskel at QB, this time knocking off Arkansas 30-10 in the Swamp. The Gators are still unbeaten in the SEC (3-0) and believe it or not, control their own destiny to make it to Atlanta and appear in the SEC title game. The bad news for Florida? LSU, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Florida State (all ranked) still loom on the schedule. We'll find out all we need to know about this new Gators offense this weekend, when they travel to LSU.

19

Texas Tech

5-0 (2-0)

21

20

Kliff Kingsbury continues to look the one of the best head coach hires of the off season, after another win put his Red Raiders at 5-0 (2-0) on the season. Still, not much we can learn from a blowout win at Kansas. The majority of Big 12 heavy hitters still remain on Tech's schedule, but they'll get two more winnable games first -- vs Iowa State and at West Virginia.

20

Oklahoma St.

4-1 (1-1)

20

22

After a 4-0 start, it appeared the Cowboys could be the team to beat in the Big 12. Then came West Virginia. Then a close win against Kansas State... Now, who knows? Oklahoma State will continue to benefit from a weak schedule, but it's hard to trust a team that struggles at home with K-State. They get TCU this weekend to try and sort things out.

21

Northwestern

4-1 (0-1)

19

19

Oh, Northwestern. I mock you for nearly losing to Maine, then you nearly pull off the unthinkable Saturday night. If you felt bad for the Huskies after their loss to Stanford, you didn't watch the Ohio State - Northwestern game. The Wildcats led 23-20 going into the 3rd quarter, but were unable to hold on and do the College Football world a favor by knocking off the Buckeyes. Unfortunately for Northwestern, they are forced to travel to Wisconsin this weekend to take on the Badgers.

22

Fresno State

5-0 (2-0)

23

21

We talked all off season long about who might be a BCS buster this season; but no one mentioned Fresno State. Well, we all might have mistaken. The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 on the season with a 61-14 win over Idaho. Why would they be heading to the BCS? You name me the toughest opponent left on their schedule: Vs UNLV, at San Diego State, Vs Nevada, at Wyoming, Vs New Mexico State and at San Jose State. You see a loss in there? Me neither.

23

North. Illinois

5-0 (1-0)

24

23

From this year’s potential BCS buster, to last year’s BCS buster -- Northern Illinois. It wasn't pretty, but the Huskies downed Kent State 38-24 on the road to improve to 5-0 on the season. Much like Fresno State, the main storyline (or, only storyline) surrounding Northern Illinois is their weak schedule.

24

Nebraska

4-1 (1-0)

25

NA

The Cornhuskers started off their Big 10 play with a win over Illinois in Lincoln, 39-19 was the final. No Taylor Martinez? No problem, as Tommy Armstrong filled in nicely and led the Huskers to TD drives on each of their first three drives. Nebraska can continue to right the ship (and try to save Bo Pelini's job) the next two weeks at Purdue and at Minnesota.

25

Missouri

5-0 (1-0)

NA

25

How bout’ them Missouri Tigers? They haven't played anybody, but through five games, they haven't lost. Not going to lie, haven't seen much of Missouri this season -- but we'll find out all we need to know this weekend, when they travel to take on the 7th ranked Georgia Bulldogs.